kitchenmotors
Banned
You're so hardcore.
-
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Graph of 35 Years of console launch prices adjusted for inflation (includes Wii U)
- Thread starter Horse Armour
- Start date
You're so hardcore.
Did the Atari 7800 come out for $15? How could it have been so cheap? Wiki lists it at $140. wow
So the fact that everyone that has tried it has enjoyed it doesn't interest you? Or the fact that since the NES came out, every Nintendo console (including Gamecube and Wii) has had a pile of must play games. You don't think the WiiU will be capable of doing that? Also, the other consoles will be a while. Better get a magazine to read.
So the fact that everyone that has tried it has enjoyed it doesn't interest you? Or the fact that since the NES came out, every Nintendo console (including Gamecube and Wii) has had a pile of must play games. You don't think the WiiU will be capable of doing that? Also, the other consoles will be a while. Better get a magazine to read.
So much salt you could open a mine
Quite so. I still think the WiiU to the 'outside Gaf' world is of perceived value though.
We'll see though I guess.
Heres unadjusted, for those interested:
Adjusted is great but inflation isn't a huge influence on the gaming industry, and prices are only now starting to creep upwards after many years of being kept around the same price.
The bizarre thing about this is how badly New Zealand and Austalia get ripped off from the main players. A 3DO at launch cost $1000nzd, a PSone cost $800nzd at launch (1 year later) and the PS2 cost $1200nzd at launch. I think from memory the Gamecube was $600nzd as was the Dreamcast.
Mr. Poolman
Member
Agreed.
Baffles my mind somebody would decide to not like a videogame console before playing it himself.
Majmun
Member
Consoles, yeah. But I still remember paying with gold bars when buying SNES and N64 games.
CosmicQueso
Member
I just... I... wow.
You're right, the Wii really struggled to find a place in the market because of it not being "cutting edge".
Oracle Dragon
Member
Ahhh Saturn, dashing my youthful dreams of being able to afford Virtua Fighter at home.
Though looking at the Jaguar that wasn't much cheaper... I remember one of my friends bought that thing at launch and it never got used, sold it later for chump change because no one wanted it... I'm pretty sure he holds a grudge against Atari to this day
Though looking at the Jaguar that wasn't much cheaper... I remember one of my friends bought that thing at launch and it never got used, sold it later for chump change because no one wanted it... I'm pretty sure he holds a grudge against Atari to this day
Oracle Dragon
Member
I can't disagree on the terrible name, but I don't mind the tech. Still play the Wii all the time, and many games on it look (and play) great. I can't claim to understand the purpose of the 32GB WiiU though if you can just attach any USB HD to the thing, but I must admit I have not delved into it too much yet.
But, yes, terrible name and that's coming from a Wii fan
megashock5
Member
Exactly. Historically, inflation and technology becoming cheaper have balanced each other fairly well, which is what allowed Nintendo to release their first four consoles for the same price even though that spans from 1985 to 2001 - and why PS2 could launch for the same price as PS1.
The real killer is Sega launching the Dreamcast for HALF of its predecessor's cost. Pretty much the opposite of what Sony did with PS3. And DC blew away the Saturn.
Some interesting thoughts on Microsoft and Sony's next consoles.
I wonder how the $99 Xbox 360 deal is doing. Definitely seems like Microsoft is testing the waters with it.
Criminal Upper
Banned
I've never understood why the NeoGeo was such a failure.
Just doesn't make sense.
Just doesn't make sense.
Osiris
I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
It's hyperbole to say that the Wii U is 7 year hardware.
However it's accurate to say that the Wii U isn't exactly cutting edge and it shows from the titles shown so far, there's very little revealed so far that shows any real technological advances from the last gen other than the GamePad use, if the GamePad use doesn't interest you much then it's going to look very similar to the PS3/360 gen.
Which is a very similar position the Wii found itself in, if the motion controls didn't interest you then the Wii just looked underpowered.
It's a valid direction for Nintendo to take, but for some gamers it's not an exciting new next gen launch, and the value proposition is lower and therefore leads to exaggerated statements such as 7 year old h/w.
THIS is what leads to the price complaints, such a move at a much lower price would have been accepted by a wider number, as it is it just doesn't come across as an attractive price for some (myself included).
However it's accurate to say that the Wii U isn't exactly cutting edge and it shows from the titles shown so far, there's very little revealed so far that shows any real technological advances from the last gen other than the GamePad use, if the GamePad use doesn't interest you much then it's going to look very similar to the PS3/360 gen.
Which is a very similar position the Wii found itself in, if the motion controls didn't interest you then the Wii just looked underpowered.
It's a valid direction for Nintendo to take, but for some gamers it's not an exciting new next gen launch, and the value proposition is lower and therefore leads to exaggerated statements such as 7 year old h/w.
THIS is what leads to the price complaints, such a move at a much lower price would have been accepted by a wider number, as it is it just doesn't come across as an attractive price for some (myself included).
KojiKnight
Member
I don't think it really was, it was a massive arcade success and the only reason why it was a "home failure" was because it was more or less DESIGNED to be. It was literally the same thing as an arcade box. The hardware was 100% the same.
They made no attempt at cost cutting or anything else because it was deisgned for rich kids who wanted an arcade at their house. Hell, each game was 100+ each as well.
Technological products generally are examples of deflationary goods (ie goods which become cheaper over time), but inflation-adjusted comparisons are still useful in that they provide a comparison of the "expensiveness" (for want of a better word) of products over time by comparing them to the price of a standardised basket of goods. Personally I'd prefer that they were adjusted by income levels, which would give us a measure of the relative affordability of the products, but inflation-adjusted figures are still interesting nonetheless.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
Bingo. But yeah, it's still interesting for outliers like the NeoGeo, which was hilariously expensive any way you slice it.
m.i.s.
Banned
Transition phase; Yamauchi-era Nintendo to Iwata-era Nintendo. Different priorities. As a gamer (and not a shareholder), much prefer the former era btw.
Actually more a change at the top, the Gamecube was the last console produced under the direction of Hiroshi Yamauchi.
Not that big a difference. Iwata's last job before becoming CEO was being in charge of designing the Gamecube.
CHUNKYBOWSER
Member
It's nice to see that it's one of the cheapest consoles relatively speaking, but I still need to come up with the extra 300 or so dollars that I need to pay off the console and a couple games.
Actually that was a source of contention between the two figures, Iwata wanted some sort differential with the Gamecube, can't remember off hand and Yamauchi wanted to fight the Playstation with a Playstation. The ethos of design is still Yamauchi.
megashock5
Member
That's the one I always think of, but I had forgotten that the 3DO launched at $700. Cripes.
Fair point, although I think that if the Gamecube had been successful Iwata would have been far more likely to follow up with something similar.
Interesting this article was posted - I was thinking about a similar comparison. Instead of focusing on inflation, which takes into account many industries, what about inflation of just entertainment products? Ideally, an index of cd prices, movie ticket prices, etc.
Just using movie ticket prices and Nintendo launches, for example, we see that in 2011(last year data available), the average movie ticket costs 7.93 in the US. source - http://www.natoonline.org/statisticstickets.htm
So, if we adjust to 2011 prices (assuming I did the math right - haven't taken a math class in more than a decade!)
Holy crap I just looked how to do html tables, spent a bunch of time inputting it, and then found out that the forum doesn't support tables. Well, here's the ghetto version:
System.... Released....Price....Movie ticket....Adjusted
Wii U........2012............300........7.93
Wii...........2006............250........6.55...........302.67
Gamec.....2001.............200.......5.65............280.71
Nin. 64.....1996............200.........4.42..........358.82
Super.......1991............200.........4.21..........376.72
Just using movie ticket prices and Nintendo launches, for example, we see that in 2011(last year data available), the average movie ticket costs 7.93 in the US. source - http://www.natoonline.org/statisticstickets.htm
So, if we adjust to 2011 prices (assuming I did the math right - haven't taken a math class in more than a decade!)
Holy crap I just looked how to do html tables, spent a bunch of time inputting it, and then found out that the forum doesn't support tables. Well, here's the ghetto version:
System.... Released....Price....Movie ticket....Adjusted
Wii U........2012............300........7.93
Wii...........2006............250........6.55...........302.67
Gamec.....2001.............200.......5.65............280.71
Nin. 64.....1996............200.........4.42..........358.82
Super.......1991............200.........4.21..........376.72
m.i.s.
Banned
I don't understand what you're getting at with this. Iwata specifically said that the era where graphics made a difference to gaming are over. He then set out to design hardware around this philosophy. I don't necessarily disagree with his hardware strategies as such but more the casualisation of a large part of Nintendo's games output. But, hey, topic for another thread.
i don't think there is an honest nintendo fan on gaf who wouldn't prefer a modern gamecube. would probably be the only thing to claw me back into the console rat-race.
Dictator93
Member
DING DING DING
Goldenroad
Member
$300 for a brand new console in this day and age seems like an alright deal to me. Am I crazy? I bet you the new XBOX and Playstation launch at closer to $500. Don't get me wrong, people will complain about that too, but they are still going to sell.
What part of the Wii U is 7 year old hardware? The CPU is a Power 7 derivative, similar to the one in the IBM Watson.
I'm not sure how relevant this information is as a movie ticket can range anywhere from 1.00 to 16.00. The console price you list is selecting one console at this absolute zenith of it's cost to the consumer.
If you reversed this comparison, it would be like taking the average cost of ALL consoles sold in 2012 and comparing it to the maximum ticket price of a 3D movie shown on opening weekend in NYC.
The Elite
BOSS
Why is factoring in processing power trolling? It's a realistic factor in cost/value.
The Gamecube at $199 was a beast of a system and comparable to the consoles of the time at a competitive price.
I like this post.
Yes! finally...
Some people seem to forget that wage increases have been lagging behind inflation and economic growth for decades
So for the average joe buying a Nes in 1986 was waaaaay cheaper in terms of disposable income than for that same joe to buy a wiiU now
It's often claimed that the change in Nintendo's hardware strategy from the Wii onwards is simply a matter of Iwata being in charge versus Yamauchi. The same people often hold up the Gamecube as the prototypical example of pre-Iwata hardware. My point is that this is a flawed premise, as Iwata was actually the one in charge of designing the Gamecube. The shift in direction was far more likely to be a result of the failure of the Gamecube to sell any significant amount. Of course it's impossible to tell what Yamauchi would have done in the situation, but he hardly would have released another console in the same vein as the Gamecube.
You're quite right though, we're fairly far off topic by this point.
It was the game price that turned me off the NEOGEO. The price of the console did not bother me hell I bought a 3DO day 1. If the games would of been closer to 60-70 I would of gotten one.
Nah, it was $299 in the US. Remember the Steve Race annoucement at E3 1995(8:10):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NS30uwn2Xg
During the mid-1990s, in Europe, Sega were supporting NINE platforms at the same time. Those were Master System, Game Gear, Mega Drive, Mega CD, 32x, 32X CD, Saturn, Windows PC and, in a deal with Nvidia, PCs equipped with 3D accelerator cards based on Nvidia's (horrid) NV1 chipset. To top it all off, Saturn had barely come out and Sega were already talking about their next console.
Adding insult to injury, Sega's marketing department promised the world with each new hardware venture. Sega's failure to consolidate however meant software developers being stretched to breaking point and unable to deliver the requisite content. And if you considered yourself (as consumer) a Sega fan, that meant owning at least four or five different platforms in order to get something close to the "full" Sega experience. When most of those platforms proved to be poorly supported, that would undoubtedly have left you more than a little pissed off.